Self-wringing mop



Dec. 3, 1935. G. E. SODERBERG ET AL 2,023,3

SELF WRINGING MOP Filed April 7 19 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 3, 1935 PATENT OFFICE SELF-WRINGING MOP Gustav Evert Siiderberg and Fredrik Andersson, Ludvika, Sweden Application April '7, 1934, Serial No. 719,542 In Sweden April 10, 1933 9 Claims.

The present invention relates to mops employing a mop cloth consisting of a bundle of yarn, fibers or similar strands of moisture absorbing and cleaning materials constituting a swab capable of being applied to and carried by a suitable handle or holder, and has among its principal objects to provide a constricting ring member for retaining in a detachable and adjustable manner the mop cloth or swab to the handle of the mop, which will be comparatively inexpensive in the cost of manufacture and yet permit the mop swab to be easily and readily applied to or removed from the mop handle or adjusted within the constricting member in order to regulate the mopping characteristics of the swab.

Another equally important object of the invention is to provide a mop of the character aforesaid with a wringer or squeezer formed integrally with the mop structure, which will not only retain the mop cloth within its contour and compress the same for squeezing the water therefrom, but will, through the manipulation thereof cause the mop cloth or swab to be adjusted and retained in various adjusted positions within the contour of the wringer or constricting member in order to vary the size and density of the portion of the mop cloth or swab to be applied, so that the mop may be employed to meet all different mopping conditions, and to accomplish this by providing means for pulling the swab through the constricting ring. Mops have been heretofore employed in which the swab is held in a ring, but these have all had the disadvantage that the swab could be removed only by a cumbersome procedure, that the size of the part of the swab to be applied could not be varied, and that no provision was made for wringing or sqeezing the swab.

Other objects of the invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In order that the invention and its mode of operation may be readily understood by persons skilled in the art, We have in the accompanying drawing and in the detailed following description based thereupon, set out an embodiment of the same.

In the drawing:

Figure. 1.is aside elevation of the mop embodying the present invention with a portion of the handle broken away.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same with the mop swab removed therefrom, and

Figure 3 is a detail of the operating lever and hook arm taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1,

showing the pin and recess for locking these two members.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing wherein like and corresponding parts are designated by similar reference 5 characters throughout the several views, we have herein shown a holder or handle I to which is to be detachably and adjustably connected the mop cloth or swab A by a supporting and constricting metal member 2. 10

This member 2 is preferably formed from a continuous length of resilient wire having its medial portion bent double to form a double split ring 9 and the opposing ends of this ring 9 being bent upon themselves as at I and 8 and these 5 opposing ends normally having a slight space 26 between them. The opposite ends of this length of wire which forms the constricting member are pointed and these pointed ends 3 and 4 extend through a metal cap 5 and into the lower end 20 of the handle I. This split structure of the ring 9 permits it to resiliently expand when the swab is pulled therethrough, while the ring 9 still grips and constricts the swab. This cap 5 extends over the reduced lower end of the handle I and forms a protector therefor, whereas the pointed ends 3 and 4 of the constricting ring member 2 are driven in and securely fastened to the wooden handle I.

The mop swab as herein shown is preferably formed from strands of yarn or similar fabric which are bent or folded upon themselves in such a manner that one end of the swab will have the folded ends of the strands of fabric whereas the free ends of the strands will project from the 5 opposite end of the swab and form the mopping surface or portion thereof, or as a loop of fibrous material. This mop cloth or swab A is then inserted within the constricting ring or loop 9 and as this is a split or open ring it will lit 40 about the cloth and resiliently retain the mop within the ring. This ring 9 has an interior diameter less than that of the normal exterior diameter of the mop cloth or swab in order that the ring will not only grip and retain the mop 45- ber as is illustrated in Figure 1, and formed with this hook is a fiat terminal portion [6 having an elongated slot I1 formed therein. Pivotally mounted as at M to a bracket 10 secured to and carried by the handle l are the arms I2 and 13 of an operating lever H. This lever is preferably made from a strip of sheet metal bent upon itself in a U-shaped fashion, and connecting the arms l2 and I3 thereof is a pin 15. This pin [5 also extends through the slot ll of the rod l6. Upon swinging this lever upon its pivot connection l4 until the pin I5 engages the upper end of the slot ll, a pull may be exerted upon the book 18 whereupon the mop cloth A may be drawn entirely through the ring 9 for wringing or squeezing the moisture from the mop. If the lever II is not pulled up to its extreme upper position, but only part way, any desired portion of the mop can be pulled through the ring, to adjust the size of the portion of the swab applied as may be desired. By constructing the flat terminal portion l6 of the hook member of fiat or hoop iron the thickness of which is equal substantially to the space l6a between the arms l2 and I3 of the lever ll so that terminal portion I6 frictionally engages arms l2 and I3, no special locking means is necessary to retain the lever in position. If it is desired to provide for fixedly locking hook IE to lever II in a fixed position, the arm E3 of this lever is provided with a projecting pin 2| which is adapted to resiliently slide over the hook member l6 and engage an opening 22 formed therein in order that the lever will be locked to the hook member 16, and when this locking engagement is effected the hook ill will be retained in a fixed position in order that the mop swab A will be held in the ring in a fixed desired position. Even if there is not a frictional engagement between the terminal portion l6 of the hook member, and the arms of the lever II, and the lever does not pull on the hook member until the pin gets to the top of the slot in 16, this slot serves the very useful purpose of collapsing the lever l l and terminal portion l6 up against the handle and their ends out of the operators way, when the lever is not in use.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that we have provided a comparatively inexpensive mop whereby the mop swab thereof may be detachably connected to its handle and retained in various adjusted positions with reference to the handle, whereby the size of the mop swab may be varied to meet various mopping conditions and yet through the manipulation of the handle or operating lever the mop swab may be drawn through the ring 9 of the constricting member in order that the mop swab may be properly wrung or the water squeezed therefrom.

Manifestly, the construction herein shown is capable of considerable modification and such modifications as come within the scope of our claims, we consider within the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. In a mop, an elongated handle, a constricting ring member having a ring portion and having a terminal portion carried by one'end of said handle, and a swab of normal diameter greater than the inner diameter of said ring portion and positioned in said ring portion, said ring portion and terminal portion consisting of a single length of a thin resilient linear piece of metal bent double upon itself over a major portion of its said ring portion, said ring portion being formed by bending said piece of metal back upon itself at two spaced points thereof and by shaping the doubled portions so formed into a ring spaced between said points of bending, whereby said swab is held in said ring in resiliently constricted 5 relation.

2. In a mop, an elongated handle, a swab, means for holding and constricting said swab, means for pulling said swab, an axially slotted shaft carrying said pulling means, an actuating l0 lever, means for pivotally mounting said lever on said handle, a pin carried by said lever and mounted to slidably engage the slot in said shaft, said holding means being carried by said handle at one end thereof, whereby actuation of said 13 lever will actuate said pulling means in desired manner.

3. In a mop, an elongated handle, a swab, means for holding and constricting said swab, means for pulling said swab, said holding means 20 being carried by said handle at one end thereof, an axially slotted shaft carrying said pulling means, a U-shaped actuating lever comprising two parallel arms, means for pivotally mounting the free terminal portions of said arms of said U- shaped lever on said handle, a pin carried by said lever and extending through said arms of said lever, said shaft being mounted between said arms of said lever and said pin being mounted to slidably engage said slot in said shaft, whereby actuation of said lever will actuate said pulling means in desired manner.

4. In a mop, an elongated handle, a swab, means for holding and constrictingsai'd swab, means for pulling said swab, said holding means being carried by said handle at one end thereof, an axially slotted shaft carrying said pulling means, a U-shaped actuating lever comprising two spaced parallel arms, means for pivotally mounting the free terminal portions of said arms 0 of said U-shaped lever on said handle, a pin carried by said lever and extending through said arms of said lever, said shaft being fiat and of thickness substantially equal to the space between said arms of said lever and being mounted between said arms of said lever whereby said shaft frictionally engages said arms to adjustably secure said shaft in adjustably fixed relation with respect to said lever and its pin, said pin being mounted to slidably engage said slot in said shaft, whereby actuation of said lever will actuate said pulling means in desired manner.

5. In a mop, an elongated handle, a swab, means for holding and constricting said swab, means for pulling said swab, an axially slotted shaft carrying said pulling means, an actuating lever, means for pivotally mounting said lever on said handle, a pin carried by said lever and mounted to slidably engage the slot in said shaft, said holding means being carried by said handle at one end thereof, said shaft being provided with locking means, and said lever being provided with locking means adapted to engage said locking means of said shaft and hold said shaft and said lever in relatively fixed position, whereby actuation of said lever will actuate said pulling means in desired manner.

6. In a mop, an elongated handle, a constricting ring member having a ring portion and having a terminal portion carried by one end of said handle, a swab of normal diameter greater than the inner diameter of said ring portion and positioned in said ring portion, said ring portion and terminal portion consisting of a single length of a thin resilient linear piece of metal bent double upon itself over a major portion of its said ring portion, said ring portion being formed by bending said piece of metal back upon itself at two spaced points thereof and by shaping the doubled portions so formed into a ring spaced between said points of bending, a hook member having an open hook of smaller diameter than the interior diameter of said ring portion projecting through said ring portion and engaging said swab, and adjustable means attached to said handle and carrying said hook member for maintaining said hook member in adjustably fixed position in relation to said handle and said ring member, whereby actuation of said adjustable means will pull an adjusted desired portion of said swab through i said constricting ring member.

7. In a mop, an elongated handle, a constricting ring member having a ring portion and having a terminal portion carried by one end of said handle, a swab of normal diameter greater than the inner diameter of said ring portion and positioned in said ring portion, said ring portion and terminal portion consisting of a single length of a thin resilient linear piece of metal bent double upon itself over a major portion of its said ring portion, said ring portion being formed by bending said piece of metal back upon itself at two spaced points thereof and by shaping the doubled portions so formed into a ring spaced between said points of bending, a hook member having an open hook of smaller diameter than the interior diameter of said ring portion projecting through said ring portion and engaging said swab, and lever means attached to said handle and carrying said hook member for applying tension to said hook member with relation to said handle and said ring member, said lever means being fixedly adjustable and adapted for maintaining said hook member in adjustably fixed relation to said handle and said ring member, whereby actuation of said adjustable means will pull an adjusted desired portion of said swab through said constricting ring member.

8. In a mop, an elongated handle, a swab, means for holding and constricting said swab, means for pulling said swab, an axially slotted shaft carrying said pulling means, an actuating lever, means for pivo-tally mounting said lever on said handle, a pin carried by said lever and mounted to slidably engage the slot in said shaft, and means to adjustably secure said shaft to said lever and its pin, said holding means being carried by said handle at one end thereof, whereby actuation of said lever will actuate said pulling means in desired manner.

9. In a mop, an elongated handle, a swab, means for holding and constricting said swab, means for pulling said swab, said holding means being carried by said handle at one end thereof, an axially slotted shaft carrying said pulling means, a U-shaped actuating lever comprising two parallel arms, means for pivotally mounting the free terminal portions of said arms of said U-shaped lever on said handle, a pin carried by said lever and extending through said arms of said lever, said shaft being mounted between said arms of said lever and said pin being mounted to slidably engage said slot in said shaft, and means to adjustably secure said shaft to said lever and its pin, whereby actuation of said lever will actuate said pulling means in desired manner.

GUSTAV EWERT soDERBERG. FREDRIK ANDERSSON. 

